Google Buys Aardvark, You Surprised?

Yesterday, TechCrunch broke the news that Aardvark, a human powered answer engine, was purchased by Google. Google confirmed the deal, but did not confirm the $50 million price tag associated with the deal.

Aardvark basically allows you to send the network a question. It will then look at your network of people, figure out who is best to answer the question you asked and send them the question via IM, email or Twitter. If (big if) someone replies with an answer, it will then return you the answer via IM, email or Twitter. I used it a lot in the past, because it is a neat idea - but it didn't really stick with me for one reason or another.

In any event, Google bought them. Why? Maybe for the talent, the people? Maybe for the technology? I am not sure. To be honest, I was a bit surprised by this acquisition - but clearly I don't see the big picture here.